. <\/span><\/p>\nIrpin has suffered heavy damage in the attack, with hundreds of residents killed and thousands more uprooted from their homes.<\/span><\/p>\n“At first you’re kind of in a state of shock. You don’t know what’s going on,” said Amosov. <\/span><\/p>\n“The most important thing for us was to get our families to safety. Me and my friends, my parents, our wives, our elderly, our kids, dogs – anybody.<\/span><\/p>\n“The flow of people, traffic jams, it was horrible as you can imagine. Everyone is trying to get to safety. We finished packing up, got everybody in the cars and then we hit the road. I drove for 36 hours straight to get them to safety.”<\/span><\/p>\nWith his family safely away from the frontline, Amosov regained some clarity and made a potentially life-changing decision – he would drive back to Irpin to defend his city.<\/span><\/p>\nHe did not know if he would see his family again.<\/span><\/p>\nAmosov, centre, was part of the Ukrainian forces defending his home town of Irpin last year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRussia’s invasion began on the morning of 24 February 2022. By evening, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky had ordered the general mobilisation of all men between 18 and 60 years old, prohibiting them from leaving the country.<\/span><\/p>\nAmosov, like many of his countrymen, was thrust into action with no military experience.<\/span><\/p>\n“[My training] was in the trenches. That’s where we got our training – in military action. The war was training,” said Amosov.<\/span><\/p>\nHis time at the beginning was mostly occupied by helping the thousands of civilians who had been displaced from their homes by Russian bombing.<\/span><\/p>\n“I think sometimes people have a very movie-like association of what soldiers do and they just run around shooting all day,” he said. <\/span><\/p>\n“That’s not what we were doing. A lot of our work had to do with rescuing and helping people in whatever they needed help with, whether it’s recovering them from rubble or moving stuff or whatever it was. You try to do whatever it is you need to do to make sure people get better.<\/span><\/p>\n“It was over a month and a half until we finally got a full military uniform and then started to participate in some of this action.”<\/span><\/p>\nAmosov had never fired a gun in his life when he was given one by the Ukrainian military.<\/span><\/p>\nHe says he always turned down friends’ invites to shooting ranges or on hunting trips.<\/span><\/p>\n“I was actually always kind of shying away from handling weapons. In the beginning I didn’t even know if I was firing the thing the right way,” he said. <\/span><\/p>\n“I had to ask people next to me and my friends if I was using the weapon the right way.”<\/span><\/p>\nBy the end of March, Amosov had helped Ukrainian troops recapture Irpin from Russian occupation.<\/span><\/p>\nBut it came at an immeasurable emotional cost. <\/span><\/p>\nA cemetery in Irpin has been filling fast with the casualties of war<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAs of 13 February, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights <\/span>says 7,199 civilians have died in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s invasion<\/span>external-link<\/title><path d=\"M12 0v5h11.5l-5 5H0v22h22V17.5l-2 2V30H2V12h14.5l-7.8 7.7 3.6 3.6L27 8.5V20h5V0H12z\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-42.$link-2.1.0.1\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/a><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-42.3\">, with a further 11,756 injured.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2023\/02\/01\/ukraine-russia-war-65000-war-crimes-committed-prosecutor-general-says.html#:~:text=Investing%20Club-,Russia%20has%20committed%20more%20than%2065%2C000,in%20Ukraine%2C%20prosecutor%20general%20says&text=Ukraine's%20Prosecutor%20General%20Andriy%20Kostin,began%20nearly%20a%20year%20ago.\" class=\"story-body__external-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-1\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-1.0\">Russia has been accused of tens of thousands of war crimes<\/span><span class=\"gs-u-ml- gel-icon\" style=\"height:15px;width:15px;\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-1.1\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-1.1.0\"><title data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-1.1.0.0\">external-link<\/title><path d=\"M12 0v5h11.5l-5 5H0v22h22V17.5l-2 2V30H2V12h14.5l-7.8 7.7 3.6 3.6L27 8.5V20h5V0H12z\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-1.1.0.1\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/a><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.2\">, including mass murder of civilians, torture and rape. Russia has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2022\/apr\/04\/kremlin-reverts-to-type-in-response-to-alleged-war-crimes-in-ukraine\" class=\"story-body__external-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-4\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-4.0\">denied its troops are guilty of such actions<\/span><span class=\"gs-u-ml- gel-icon\" style=\"height:15px;width:15px;\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-4.1\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-4.1.0\"><title data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-4.1.0.0\">external-link<\/title><path d=\"M12 0v5h11.5l-5 5H0v22h22V17.5l-2 2V30H2V12h14.5l-7.8 7.7 3.6 3.6L27 8.5V20h5V0H12z\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.$link-4.1.0.1\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/a><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-43.5\">, claiming evidence has been faked and accounts fabricated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-44\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-44.0\">Amosov described what he saw on the ground in Irpin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-45\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-45.0\">“When we liberated my hometown, there’s a town next to it, and we kind of went there to let the people know the Russian army has been pushed away and they are now safe. And we saw a street called the Street of Death,” he said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-46\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-46.0\">“To the left and to the right all you saw was bodies. Regular people, grandmas, kids, wives, husbands, and they were there for weeks. The Russian soldiers would not let their loved ones collect the remains and bury them. They just laid there rotting. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-47\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-47.0\">“We got in and we were telling them we were Ukrainian troops, that they were now liberated. They’re crying and we’re giving them bread and water. They’re excited just to have some kind of a meal.”<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-48\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-48.0\">Amosov continued: “It makes you wonder, what kind of person would do this? What kind of soldier would follow these kind of orders? What kind of person would give these kind of orders to slaughter innocent civilians that have nothing to do with anything, in their own country?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-49\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-49.0\">“A lot of times we would go there and bury families and you don’t even know who they are. You would just put a name and date they passed away on a sign, hoping later somebody could identify it and figure it out. It’s just a mess, an absolute mess.”<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-50\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-50.0\">Amosov is still coming to terms with these experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"gs-u-mt0 gs-u-mb-alt+ story-body__media story-body__media--figure qa-story-body-media\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$image-51\"><span class=\"gs-u-display-block story-body__media\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$image-51.0\"><span class=\"gs-u-display-block gs-o-responsive-image\" style=\"padding-bottom:56.25%;\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$image-51.0.0\"><img src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/1580B\/production\/_128657088_bellator.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 800px, (min-width: 900px) 624px, (min-width: 600px) 976px, (min-width: 400px) 624px, 400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/400\/cpsprodpb\/1580B\/production\/_128657088_bellator.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/1580B\/production\/_128657088_bellator.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/800\/cpsprodpb\/1580B\/production\/_128657088_bellator.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/976\/cpsprodpb\/1580B\/production\/_128657088_bellator.jpg 976w\" alt=\"Yaroslav Amosov celebrates victory\" class=\"qa-srcset-image\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$image-51.0.0.0\"\/><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"gel-brevier gs-u-ph+ gs-u-pv-alt story-body__media__caption story-body__media__caption--image\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$image-51.1\">Keeping the profile of his country’s cause high around the world is a key motivation for Amosov’s return to the ring<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-52\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-52.0\">After Ukrainian soldiers regained control of Irpin, Amosov took part in sporadic MMA training sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-53\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-53.0\">Over the next few months Amosov trained as a hobby with no intention of returning to professional competition, until his family and friends convinced him otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-54\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-54.0\">As his training intensified he moved to a bigger MMA gym in Germany, and before long his return to competition was confirmed. In November, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/mixed-martial-arts\/63716024\" class=\"story-body__internal-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-54.$link-2\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-54.$link-2.0\">it was announced he would face interim welterweight champion Storley<\/span><\/a><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-54.3\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-55\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-55.0\">But it is hard to focus on the forthcoming fight and forget the bigger one back home. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-56\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-56.0\">“Some of my friends who came to visit me all had the same sensation – it was aeroplanes. When an aeroplane would fly over we get this sick feeling because in the Ukraine it’s bad news. Something is coming. There’s going to be a bombing. So hearing aeroplanes is difficult,” said Amosov.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-57\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-57.0\">“And then not seeing the military in the streets and not walking around with guns and in ruins. And then the curfew – we had a curfew in Ukraine – so yeah, it took quite a bit of adjustment.”<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-58\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-58.0\">Amosov continued: “I think the biggest part it affects is you start to re-evaluate what’s important in life and what are the things that matter and the things that don’t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-59\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-59.0\">“To be honest with you, I really don’t know truly how this affected me. It’s still affecting me, it hasn’t settled in.”<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-60\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-60.0\">Amosov says his friends and family have helped with his adjustment to life outside war, but he has received no professional care.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-61\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-61.0\">Amosov’s first experience of MMA was at the age of 16 when he joined a combat sambo gym – a form of martial arts popular in Eastern Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-62\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-62.0\">After transitioning to MMA, he won 19 fights before signing with American promotion Bellator in 2018 where he became welterweight champion and extended his unbeaten record to 27.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-63\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-63.0\">Amosov’s run is currently the longest unbeaten streak in a major MMA promotion. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-64\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-64.0\">His convincing win over Storley, 30, was his second over the American following a split decision victory in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-67\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-67.0\">Amosov says the experience defending his country has changed his motivations for fighting. He has lost friends and training partners during the war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-68\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-68.0\">“Any time now when I face difficulty or I feel tired from training, I can’t help but think about my friends and my family that are in Ukraine right now,” he said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-69\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-69.0\">“In the trenches, defending my country and how much harder it is for them. It puts things into perspective and I want to thank them for doing it, but yes, it has changed my motivation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-70\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-70.0\">“I want to win. I want to bring the belt back home to Ukraine. I think it means a lot more now than it ever has. To my country which I love, it means everything.”<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-71\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-71.0\">Despite victory over Storley and unifying the Bellator welterweight division, the ongoing war remains at the forefront of Amosov’s thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-72\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-72.0\">“War leaves marks and it definitely left a mark on me. And it’s not over, it’s still going on and people are still dying,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-73\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-73.0\">“They are attacking [civilians], flying around and dropping bombs, killing innocent people left and right. What’s the explanation for that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-74\"><span data-reactid=\".12ic0khlyeu.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-74.0\">“[Now] this fight’s over, I’m going to go back to Ukraine.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/mixed-martial-arts\/64641088\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amosov has the longest unbeaten streak in any top-level MMA promotion Warning: this story contains descriptions of conflict some readers may find upsetting. Using the torch on his mobile phone to guide him, Yaroslav Amosov climbs out of the darkness, up some dusty, broken stairs into the light. Below is a basement, above are the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6323"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6323"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6325,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6323\/revisions\/6325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Yaroslav](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/14C53\/production\/_128657058_a41i3875.jpg\")
<\/span><\/span>![\"Short](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/FA44\/production\/_118786046_grey_line_new.jpg\")
![\"Yaroslav](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/B013\/production\/_128657054_amosov_getty.jpg\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/17BB\/production\/_128657060_irpin_funearl.jpg\")